Tue, 10/15/2019 - 1:23 pm

The Jon Stickley Trio, one of the roots music scene’s most progressive and innovative voices, has released a video for their latest single, "Animate Object" after a premiere by The Bluegrass Situation.

The groundbreaking single released by Organic Records blends Jazz, Latin, and Dance music with an unconventional and alluring result, making it a perfect example of the group’s genre-defying twist on acoustic-based music. 

The video, filmed and edited by Michael Mallicote, was captured in three different locations — The World Famous Station Inn, Spirit of the Suwannee, and The Caverns and Bluegrass Underground — each having a deep significance to the band's roots and current path.

"'Animate Object' is the trio’s current theme song. At heart, it’s a little flatpicking tune to have fun with, but we’ve rhythmically turned it on its head like we like to do," says Jon Stickley. "This track is the next step in a never-ending evolutionary journey that is the Jon Stickley Trio."

Watch the video above and stream "Animate Object" HERE

About the Jon Stickley Trio
Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, whose deep grooves, innovative flatpicking, and sultry-spacy violin move the listener’s head, heart, and feet. “It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style,” writes Guitar Player Magazine. With inspiration ranging from Green Day to Duran Duran to Tony Rice to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, David Grisman and beyond, the Trio, which features violinist Lyndsay Pruett and drummer Hunter Deacon, is making waves with their unique sound. Along with releasing two full length albums and one EP in the past few years, the Trio has zig-zagged the nation, though they still call Asheville, NC home. Stickley says, “The Trio feels fresher and hotter than ever, we’ve hit our stride in terms of creating tunes that are uniquely us and that’s a really exciting place to be musically.”

Tue, 02/11/2020 - 3:08 pm

The innovative and progressive Jon Stickely Trio crafts genre-defying acoustic music that is intelligent, joyful and unconventional. The Asheville, NC-based group has now teamed with Organic Records to release Scripting The Flip on April 3. The album is now available for pre-order.

Rooted in the traditions of bluegrass but combining gypsy jazz, avant garde, rock and even EDM music into a powerfully unique sound of its own, the Trio — which features Jon Stickley on guitar, Lyndsay Pruett on violin and Hunter Deacon on drums — has become festival and music hall performing favorites. A rapidly growing and increasingly devoted fan base has resulted from their national touring schedule and in this, the Trio’s fifth album.

A series of singles preceding Scripting The Flip’s release serve as focus tracks and show the band’s ability to weave a multitude of strands into one coherent, distinctive fabric.

The first, “Animate Object,” is an intelligent blend of jazz, latin, and dance music. It’s unconventional and alluring, making it a perfect example of the group’s twist on acoustic-based music. “The world is a swirling collection of objects passing through space and time. As humans, we have our own orbits that intersect with others as we live in the world. ‘Animate Object’ explores the idea of different musical orbits coming together to create something unexpected,” says Stickley. 

Inspired by the late night festival sets the Trio loves to play, where it often takes on a life of its own, “Don’t Slip” is the group’s dance anthem. “Overall this song is one of the most ‘us’ tracks we’ve ever recorded,” says Stickley. “It’s about the freedom to explore and get lost in the groove, and when it takes over, make sure not to slip!”

The third is a characteristically witty yet deeply rooted take on a bluegrass classic: legendary fiddler Kenny Baker’s “Bluegrass In The Backwoods.” Stickley adds, “The tune captures one of the coolest aspects of bluegrass: its ability to naturally incorporate other genres and styles. It’s easy to hear the influences of gypsy jazz, and even bebop in the phasing of the melody.”

These, with the album’s 8 other instrumental offerings, move through moods that evolve over the course of the album and even within the tracks themselves. More highlights include “Driver,” with guest banjoist Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon, which reunites Stickley with a long-time friend and former bandmate in a slice of modern Colorado ‘grass, and the title track, “Scripting the Flip,” where intricately geometrical musical phrases act as a metaphor for this Trio’s aim, blending and extending a style rooted in one world but entering another.

In this way, the Jon Stickley Trio transcends the standards of acoustic music with a wide range of influences masterfully integrated into a signature approach. The collection sums up the Jon Stickley Trio: A three way collaboration expressing music that comes from the heart and the mind and speaks to both.

Pre-order Scripting The Flip HERE.

Sun, 10/11/2020 - 1:48 pm

Jeremy Garrett is a master of deploying multiple instruments and modern technology to create a staggering variety of sounds on his solo work — his January Organic Records debut project, Circles, more than proved the point — but for his new single, the mountain-dwelling fiddler and vocalist for the Infamous Stringdusters keeps it bare bones simple. Written with frequent collaborator Jon Weisberger, “The World Keeps Turning Around” is a meditation on social media and human communication that needs nothing more than a guitar, a voice and the tiniest bit of multi-tracking alchemy to deliver a message that’s perfectly suited to the moment. 

“These days it just seems like we are going around in circles with many of the conversations we are having — especially online,” Garrett observes. “Someone has a good idea for good change, and then the barrage of disagreements on how to achieve that fires up. When we look at the big picture though, are we all just beating our heads against a brick wall, so to speak? Never realizing how powerful all of us truly loving one another could be? Maybe that message is too simple and naive, but perhaps we need to break it all down, go back to the basics and realize that we are one country, one world. We can’t ever escape that, and when we learn from each other, we would never want to.”

“So the goal of this song for us,” he continues, “was to simply ask that question: are we going to keep heading down a path of division over and over and over again? Or can we ask ourselves what we can do to break this cycle?”

Yet timely as the song’s theme is, its simple instrumentation links it back to older, simpler kinds of music — an impression underlined by the song’s use of an ancient “additive” approach to its central lyric components, in which each verse introduces a new question or statement that is followed by a repeat of the previous verses’ lines. The blend of modern and traditional folk elements has been a hallmark of Garrett’s writing for years, but not always given the prominence it has here — and it’s that characteristic mix, applied to a topic that’s at once wholly novel and yet quintessentially timeless, that puts “The World Keeps Turning Around” in a musical class all its own.

Listen to “The World Keeps Turning Around” HERE.

Sat, 01/30/2021 - 3:56 pm

On “Wishing Well,” Organic Records’ Jeremy Garrett sounds like an artist with his soul on fire. Following the lyric-centered minimalism of “The World Keeps Turning Around,” the new single is another foray into the technological wizardry that ties together his studio work and live appearances, utilizing layered loops of guitar and mandolin to create a funky bed for powerfully emotive vocals and edgy, wailing fiddle. The result is an intense performance that sounds more like an entire band than just one musician.  

For Garrett, best known as singer and fiddle player for the GRAMMY®-winning Infamous Stringdusters, mastering the array of available modern tools is the almost inevitable outcome of his determination to build thoroughly 21st century music on a foundation of the bluegrass and roots music he’s been performing for most of his life. In doing so, he’s not only found a meaningful, creative path for himself, but also earned a place among the leaders of a diverse musical movement intent on keeping the essence of tradition fresh and reinvigorated.

“‘Wishing Well’ is one of those songs that poured out on the kitchen table in about 15 minutes,” says Garrett. “I had the whole song about that quickly. I just love the bluesy vibe that it has and the imagery that the carousel and wishing well image brings to the relationship being talked about in the song.“

With its muscular rhythms and a lyric alternating between gritty expressions of frustration and assertiveness, “Wishing Well” works equally well in addressing personal relationships and our relationships with society writ large — a song about the internal struggle of dealing with the grind of the external, brought to life at the intersection of the latest in technology and the most elemental forms of human emotions.

Listen to "Wishing Well" HERE.

Sat, 02/27/2021 - 4:43 pm

Music fans in search of a little celebratory release will find just what they’re looking for in the lighthearted vibe and upbeat energy of “Good Times,” the latest single from Organic Records’ Jeremy Garrett.

Written with frequent collaborator Jon Weisberger — the pair have contributed a score of songs to Garrett’s catalog and that of his GRAMMY®-winning group, the Infamous Stringdusters — “Good Times” finds the freewheeling singer exuding optimism over a propulsive guitar groove: “I’ve been ready, I’ve been waiting, I’ve been worried I might be wrong, Now it’s here and I feel just fine — Good time’s come, Good times comin’ on.” Amplified by some muscular percussion from the String Cheese Incident’s Jason Hann and soulful harmonies from pop singer Prisca, the track concludes with a passage that features Garrett’s signature rhythmic fiddling.

“I think all of us can identify with a song like this,” he notes. “Sometimes we can get in a rut with life and work, and it’s then we realize that we need to get away. Maybe we love what it is we do, so this song is not about a total change, but rather a recognition that we may need a break. For some of us it’s a vacation that’s the answer and for others, it may be just getting out and getting our dance and party on — cutting loose, so to speak. Sometimes getting that pause and making time for yourself makes it all the more meaningful when you return.”

“Prisca is an amazing soul singer from Georgia,” Garrett adds. “She’s a powerful solo artist currently being produced by Billy Hume, who helped with my 2020 recording, Circles. When I needed to have some harmony on a track, I asked if she could do it, and the power of her singing blew me away. I met Jason at a sold-out ‘Dusters show in Denver, where we had asked him and Travis from String Cheese Incident to join us for our second set. Again, I was blown away by Jason’s playing, and I knew he would be a great fit for some live percussion on this new project.”

Indeed, while Garrett is more than capable of pulling off a song — or an entire album, or a live show — all by himself, thanks to the technology-driven “fiddle science” he’s developed through years of solo performing, the new single makes the case that he’s no less exciting a performer in collaborative mode. As winter gives way to spring, and the possibilities for live music begin to appear on the horizon, “Good Times” is an anthem that deftly captures the spirit of the moment — and you can dance to it, too!

Listen to "Good Times" HERE.

Sat, 03/13/2021 - 2:27 pm

The title of the Jon Stickley Trio’s 2020 album, Scripting The Flip, suggested that guitar phenom Stickley has a knack for turning phrases inside out, and that same impulse is evident, too, in the way that the inspiration for the group’s latest Organic Records single — the enforced homebound idleness of quarantine life — led to its title: “In And About.”

Starting with skittering lines from Stickley’s guitar and Lyndsay Pruett’s fiddle that alternately converge and diverge over Hunter Deacon’s rattling percussion, “In And About” intersperses passages of tense, almost anxious energy with more lyrical and meditative ones, mirroring the shifting states of mind that Stickley says have been a typical experience for the group, their friends and colleagues — and, indeed, throughout the country and even around the world.

“‘In and About’ reflects the experience many of us had when life came to a screeching halt,” he notes. “Adjusting to life in quarantine left me feeling extremely restless, with nothing to do but climb the walls and panic. After months that frantic energy gave way to a sense of peace and gratitude for the good things in my life. Overall this song is about unexpected seismic shifts that give you perspective and the ability to see the beauty in the world.”

For artists who have built substantial portions of their musical identity through vigorous touring and the unique excitement of on-stage, in-the-moment creation, the coronavirus’s disruption of the live music experience has posed a special challenge.  With compositions and performances like “In And About,” the Jon Stickley Trio has not only met the challenge, but in the course of doing so, has taken its studio artistry to a new level of musical sophistication and emotional depth.

Listen to "In and About" HERE.

Sun, 03/28/2021 - 3:12 pm

Crossing genres may be more popular than ever these days, but even so, it takes a confident, creative musician to go deeper than a superficial mash-up, especially when it comes to blending traits from fundamentally different realms like acoustic roots music and amplified pop-rock. For Organic Records’ Jeremy Garrett, it’s an ongoing process — not the only, but a persistent thread in his work — and his growing mastery is evident in his latest single, “Magic.”

“I am a sucker for love songs and I’m not ashamed to admit that I love pop music,” he confesses. “I don’t often do covers, but when I heard this song by the band Coldplay, it really spoke to me. Love should be magical and you're lucky if you find it. This one goes out to all the lovers out there!”

“I had a blast layering and looping up some different parts on this song,” Garrett adds, “and I hope the ‘feel good’ vibe that I was going for really comes through in the track.”

That vibe is established from the song’s downbeat, as Garrett brightens the original’s almost somber mood with a jangly, percussive opening before swirling guitar chords outline the song’s harmonic progression amid flashes of carefully manipulated and layered fiddle and mandolin textures. Indeed, when the vocal finally emerges, the sound is at once rootsier and more unselfconsciously pop-flavored than the original — a finely-wrought, yet utterly organic illustration of Garrett’s own interpretive magic. And that feeling persists through the track’s shimmering six minutes of soulful singing, vivid saxophone-influenced fiddle passages and, always, irresistible groove.

More than an artificial yoking together of disparate elements, Jeremy Garrett’s “Magic” displays the musical force generated when a fearless artist not only reaches into different worlds, but does the hard and inspired work of bringing them into a convergence that reflects artistic integrity, deep personal belief — and, of course, the magic of love.

Listen to "Magic" HERE.

Sun, 04/11/2021 - 1:18 pm

If there’s anything to equal the excitement of a hot new artist making their recording debut, it’s the return of a groundbreaking, influential act that’s long been absent from the studio. Case in point: “Sunny,” the stunning Organic Records debut of Acoustic Syndicate, the famed western North Carolina ensemble that’s helped to pave the way for generations of freewheeling, bluegrass-flavored jam bands. Marking their first new recorded music in seven years — an eternity in today’s world — “Sunny” offers undeniable proof that the trailblazing group has as firm a grasp as ever on the unique, compelling blend of rock, folk, bluegrass and other southern roots music styles that first brought them acclaim a quarter of a century ago.

An emotionally — and musically — complex work, “Sunny” unwinds at a relaxed pace as it serves up a classic tale of a lover whose compelling commitment to the narrator is balanced by an equally undeniable need to roam. Written by singer Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry, the song works not only as a story of a relationship, but as a multi-level, multi-layered metaphor, serving as a harbinger of the renewal that comes with every spring and, at the same time, as a hopeful acknowledgement that the long year of the pandemic may at last be coming to an end — as well as an artistically framed announcement of Acoustic Syndicate’s re-emergence as a recording act.  

Still, as rich as the reverberations are, “Sunny” is plenty powerful on an immediate, visceral level. “I've had the melody for ‘Sunny’ in my head for years, along with a basic concept for the song... and even some lyrics,” notes McMurry. “But it took on an entirely new existence as soon as I dug it back up and dusted her off. The song quickly evolved into something distinctly different, lyrically, from my original idea. A new story immediately unfolded...and apparently wanted out. It was one of those Willie Nelson ‘napkin on a bar’ kind of scenarios. ‘Sunny’ literally finished herself in one hour. There is a specific story line behind the song, and it goes a little deeper than you might think,” he says, before adding with a smile, “but I probably shouldn't give it away.”  

With its shimmering acoustic guitar licks, restrained yet insistent banjo, stubbornly grooving bass, subtly rolling percussion, supportive fiddle from labelmate Lyndsay Pruett (Jon Stickley Trio) and, above all, iconic voice of “Big Daddy,” “Sunny” offers a long-awaited and welcome reintroduction to one of the most influential and widely beloved pioneering groups exemplifying the interplay of musical currents found in Acoustic Syndicate’s western North Carolina home.

Listen to "Sunny" HERE.

Sun, 06/06/2021 - 5:26 pm

When two masterful performers come together in the studio, the results can be magic, and that’s certainly true of the latest single from Organic Records’ Jeremy Garrett, a blistering duet that features the talented fiddler/singer/songwriter and his labelmate, guitarist Jon Stickley.  Written by Garrett and acclaimed songwriter John Pennell (“Every Time You Say Goodbye,” “Meat And Potatoes Man”) during the former’s years-long residence in the Nashville area, “I’m Not The Enemy” — long a staple of Garrett’s live sets — offers a heartfelt vocal, ripping solos and, most of all, rich, ever-changing interplay between Garrett and Stickley.

Garrett recalls the song’s modest origins: “We were just trying to write a driving bluegrass song about something a little different than the usual bluegrass song about trains, old times, or old dogs,” he notes. “We all probably have that friend that is a little too casual with us sometimes — one that might be grumpy, but you know they are a beautiful person; it just doesn’t show on them outwardly to most people. Perhaps it’s a relationship where one is treating another with certain disrespect. That’s what ‘I’m Not The Enemy’ is about — sending a message that reminds those types of people in our lives that we aren’t to be enemies. We are the ones that love you!”

To me, this song is quintessential Jeremy Garrett,” says Stickley. “It’s really powerful and bluesy and has a personal story behind it. We recorded it live in the studio, and the energy was just explosive! I had a blast recording this tune as a duo with one of the most epic musicians I know.”

“We trade a few solos back and forth on this one,” adds Garrett.  “Jon captured perfectly how I envisioned the guitar on this track to be, and then some. If you like hard driving bluegrass with guitar and fiddle, give this song a spin and enjoy!”

Listen to "I'm Not The Enemy" HERE.

Mon, 06/28/2021 - 7:16 am

Jon Stickley hand-picked his musical partners when he started the Jon Stickley Trio, and despite its eponymous name, the group is very much a cooperative effort. For their latest Organic Records single, the guitarist-bandleader has turned over the leading role to violinist Lyndsay Pruett, as, together with drummer Hunter Deacon, they tackle her original composition, “Death By Rainbow.”

Like its predecessors, the new release’s charms begin with its whimsical, oxymoron-flavored title, but from there, it takes a different path from the Trio’s most recent releases. Where abrupt shifts in mood, rhythm, chords and more have frequently characterized the group’s efforts, “Death By Rainbow” offers instead an elegantly dreamy, pastoral prelude, followed by a sprightly, lyrical main body that — almost! — maintains a consistent approach to the track’s end. Built from equal measures of fiddle tune structure, gypsy jazz-flavored melodic and harmonic flourishes and subtly varied rhythms, its organic motion gives the composition an effortless-sounding flow that makes its nearly four minutes fly by, and will leave many listeners wanting more.

“Lyndsay’s violin playing is nuanced, refined, creative, and always entertaining,” says Stickley. “‘Death By Rainbow’ is very representative of her overall musical vibe — it’s lively and upbeat but dissonant, and it swings like gypsy jazz, too.” 

“‘Death by Rainbow’ is a lighthearted title I came up with for a tune I had just written as my boyfriend and I hiked through Rainbow Falls last summer," says Pruett. "We came upon a copperhead snake that was stretched out across the trail, and had a hilarious time deciding how to get across. I felt it was a fitting title since it has a mostly upbeat and bouncy feel, but there’s a bit of a subversive thread throughout. I had a feeling it was going to be a good tune for the Trio, since our music so often explores themes involving the beauty and danger of nature — and, consequently, of life!”

Listen to "Death By Rainbow" HERE.

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 1:53 pm

As his band, the GRAMMY-winning Infamous Stringdusters, ramps up its touring schedule for the summer of 2021, Jeremy Garrett is taking the next step on his own artistic journey, too, with the release of his second collection for Organic Records, Wanderer’s Compass. Showcasing an ever-expanding list of inputs and influences — matched by innovative performance techniques and technologies that enable him to use his arsenal of fiddle, guitar and mandolin to create an infinite variety of sounds — it’s a diverse set that captures the singer/songwriter mid-stride between his personal bluegrass past, and a wide-open future. The album is now available for pre-order, add and save ahead of its August 13 release.

Opening with an inspired take on world music master Jai Uttal’s 30 year old “Footprints,” Garrett presents originals interleaved with a startling array of covers of songs by writers ranging from an Israeli pop singer to Coldplay to Jimmie Rodgers — the latter, characteristically enough, by way of bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe. There are staples of his solo shows, like the studio duet with guitar maestro and labelmate Jon Stickley (“I’m Not The Enemy”), and new songs written in the heat of troubled times (“The World Keeps Turning Around”), several with award-winning frequent collaborator Jon Weisberger. For each, Garrett has chosen a unique arrangement, with some offered in pared-down, acoustic instrumentation and others in more elaborate, technology-enabled settings that have taken him into new territory for a solo roots music performer.  

“The idea of a Wanderer’s Compass really sums up for me what this collection of songs is all about,” he offers. “I think it’s completely respectable to follow one path in music and be really good at that one thing — but like a kid eyeing a candy store, I am one who’s been drawn to the periphery of that path along the way. I grew up listening to so many styles of music, and even though Bluegrass was my main focus early on, I can’t help but embrace other styles of music that have also influenced me over the years. Music from pop, world, country, hip hop, bluegrass, rock, soul and gospel, have had powerful impacts on me and my style.”

“This collection of songs is about exploration and discovery,” he adds.  “An exploration, in the sense of bringing these styles together in a simulation of what could be a playlist to see how the songs and feels can complement one another. A discovery that, if you let art take you wherever it wants, it can push you beyond comfort into a realm you might never have thought possible.”

Secure in his gig with the Stringdusters as they head toward the 15th anniversary of their award-winning recorded debut, Jeremy Garrett is nevertheless intent on making his own way as a solo artist, too — and what better way to guide that journey than with a Wanderer’s Compass?

Pre-order, add or save Wanderer's Compass HERE.

Fri, 08/13/2021 - 10:15 am

Jeremy Garrett (of the GRAMMY-winning Infamous Stringdusters) is taking the next step on his own artistic journey with Wanderer's Compass, his latest album, out now from Organic Records.

Showcasing an ever-expanding list of inputs and influences — matched by innovative performance techniques and technologies that enable him to use his arsenal of fiddle, guitar and mandolin to create an infinite variety of sounds — it’s a diverse set that captures the singer/songwriter mid-stride between his personal bluegrass past, and a wide-open future.

Opening with an inspired take on world music master Jai Uttal’s 30 year old “Footprints,” Garrett presents originals interleaved with a startling array of covers of songs by writers ranging from an Israeli pop singer to Coldplay to Jimmie Rodgers — the latter, characteristically enough, by way of bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe. There are staples of his solo shows, like the studio duet with guitar maestro and labelmate Jon Stickley (“I’m Not The Enemy”), and new songs written in the heat of troubled times (“The World Keeps Turning Around”), several with award-winning frequent collaborator Jon Weisberger. For each, Garrett has chosen a unique arrangement, with some offered in pared-down, acoustic instrumentation and others in more elaborate, technology-enabled settings that have taken him into new territory for a solo roots music performer.

“The idea of a Wanderer’s Compass really sums up for me what this collection of songs is all about,” he offers. “I think it’s completely respectable to follow one path in music and be really good at that one thing — but like a kid eyeing a candy store, I am one who’s been drawn to the periphery of that path along the way. I grew up listening to so many styles of music, and even though Bluegrass was my main focus early on, I can’t help but embrace other styles of music that have also influenced me over the years. Music from pop, world, country, hip hop, bluegrass, rock, soul and gospel, have had powerful impacts on me and my style.”

“This collection of songs is about exploration and discovery,” he adds.  “An exploration, in the sense of bringing these styles together in a simulation of what could be a playlist to see how the songs and feels can complement one another. A discovery that, if you let art take you wherever it wants, it can push you beyond comfort into a realm you might never have thought possible.”

Secure in his gig with the Stringdusters as they head toward the 15th anniversary of their award-winning recorded debut, Jeremy Garrett is nevertheless intent on making his own way as a solo artist, too — and what better way to guide that journey than with a Wanderer’s Compass?

Listen to Wanderer's Compass HERE.

Fri, 08/20/2021 - 1:11 pm

When a legacy group like Acoustic Syndicate returns to the studio for the first time in years, it’s almost guaranteed that the result will be a diverse collection of songs that have been waiting for their chance to be recorded — and then devoured by long time fans. Sure enough, the Western North Carolina group's first three singles of the year ranged across a good portion of their musical spectrum, from the signature sound and thoughtful original writing of “Sunny” to the joyously danceable Grateful Dead cover, “Bertha,” to the irresistible blend of social critique and smooth groove embodied in the most recent, “Simple Dream.”

Now the group, known for its uninhibited jamming and instrumental pyrotechnics, reveals yet another facet of its musical personality with a subtle, almost subdued yet deeply soulful version of the anthemic Willie Nelson ballad, “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground.” Blending the country accents of acoustic guitar with hushed organ tones that nod to rhythm and blues, the group — lead singer and guitarist Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry, brothers Bryon (guitar) and Fitz (drums) McMurry, bassist Jay Sanders and guest vocalist Aaron “Woody” Wood — offers an interpretation that honors and acknowledges Nelson’s original (check out the Willie-esque start and end to the guitar solo at the track’s center) yet places an unmistakable Acoustic Syndicate stamp on the effort.

“I have always been, and will always be a devoted and loyal follower and fan of Willie Nelson,” confesses Steve McMurry. “We got to meet Willie and hang out with him some when we played Farm Aid way back in 2001. He was so humble, gracious and just a true gentleman in every regard and made us feel so welcome and a full on part of the event.

“I first heard ‘Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground’ in the 1981 movie, Honeysuckle Rose,” McMurry recalls. “I was at home by myself while my parents were away for the weekend. We had HBO, which my parents were NOT so much in love with, for reasons of uncensored and unbridled exposure to the real world. But anyway... I do remember, clearly... chills and goosebumps when the second verse came around. I loved it immediately, and have ever since. I was just sixteen years old, and only beginning to explore my own musicianship and learning to play guitar. As a full-on wanna-be member of the new Outlaw Movement, I was already a fan of Willie, but something about ‘Angel’ hit me hard.

“I began performing the song in my solo shows about ten or twelve years ago. I always take a moment to share with my audience the absolute genius of just how expansive and grand a story Willie tells, with really no more than two verses. There's not even a chorus. Just two verses. To me this is just amazing. So this is my tribute to Willie.

“We had intended from the beginning to cover some of our heroes on this project,” he adds. “When we were discussing options for material, Jay suggested I do ‘Angel,’ and it took me maybe two seconds to decide. I have always wanted to do this song as a duet with someone, so when the opportunity came, It was clear to me: I said ‘We gotta get Woody on this.’ It was the obvious choice, and I’m grateful to Woody for helping me out.

“So,” the singer concludes, “I do this song out of respect, with humility and with a heart full of gratitude to one of my all time greatest influences and greatest heroes: Mister Willie Nelson.”

Listen to "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" HERE.

Sat, 09/11/2021 - 4:50 pm

Back in the studio after beginning to return to live performance, Organic Records’ Jon Stickley Trio serves up another round of the acoustic guitar-violin-drum ensemble’s immediately recognizable sound with “Golden Eagle.” Combining the passionate intensity of in-the-moment improvisation with a witty, sophisticated approach to composition, “Golden Eagle” is a quintessential Trio number that goes a long way in explaining their growing appeal to fans from across the musical spectrum.

Opening with a flourish from drummer Hunter Deacon, “Golden Eagle” dives right into its first theme, with snarling, rhythmic guitar interrupted by lightning chromatic runs accompanied by Lyndsay Pruett’s energetic violin, then settles into a more lyrical passage that gives center stage to the latter, whose powerful bow arm leads back to the opening feel — this time with the violin holding on to the spotlight. A middle section focuses on a searing solo from guitarist Stickley as Pruett uses pizzicato figures alongside Deacon’s steady drumming to provide sympathetic backing. The virtuosic yet always accessible performance concludes with another visit to lyricism over increasingly active drumming before subsiding to a final contemplative chord — and in just under five minutes, the Trio has taken listeners on a complete journey.

“Over the pandemic break we just had, I spent a lot of time looking out the window with our infant son,” notes recent father Stickley. “We noticed a pair of Golden Eagles had made their home in a tree across the street. Every day we saw them dive bomb and hunt their prey, working together to deliver the food back to their nest. ‘Golden Eagle’ was inspired by this family of eagles that we watched grow. The rapid-fire drums and guitar represent the intensity of the hunt. As the tune progresses, it eases into the feeling of joyful accomplishment of bringing new life into the world. This piece really gives Hunter a chance to let loose on the kit, churning out a blast of rhythms that tell a story of their own.” 

Listen to "Golden Eagle" HERE.

Sat, 10/09/2021 - 5:19 pm

Since April, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters have been releasing music from their upcoming collection, The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, a concept suite built from songs recorded under the straitened circumstances of quarantine and envisioned as a “deconstructed album,” released, not as a package, but in a series of paired singles, with each pair drawing on both of the titular concept’s two sides.

On the Devil side of this month's double-barreled release, “Girls Like You” gets an appropriately muscular setting for Platt’s homage to Mary Magdalene, as the singer/songwriter muses on the many roles women have taken — and the categories into which they have been placed by others. The Honeycutters — Evan Martin (drums), Rick Cooper (bass, acoustic guitar), Matt Smith (electric guitar) and Kevin Williams (piano) — lay down a throbbing, country-rock groove while Platt delivers an edgy vocal that culminates in a pointed chorus:

Oh Mary, like an angel with your long red hair
but his mother was a saint, how could you possibly compare?
The story books all tell us,
doesn't matter what you do
it's never easy for girls like you

“‘Girls Like You’ I wrote after watching something on TV about Mary Magdalene,” notes Platt. “I’m always intrigued by the human experiences behind great historical myths and figures, and particularly the idea of motherhood all wrapped up in that. Our friend Tina Collins of Tina and Her Pony sang the angelic harmony on this one.”

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutter

Of the Deep Blue Sea entry in this pair, “Always Knew,” Platt says it’s “a song I wrote for my daughter.” “We wanted to keep the arrangement simple,” she adds, and indeed, the track pares down to the basics — just Platt’s wistful yet determined voice and unadorned finger-picked guitar, embroidered by Martin’s organ and Rhodes piano.  A meditation on how life’s realities can bend away from some expectations while somehow managing to fulfill others, “Always Knew” feels almost like a lullaby, or an intimate letter meant to be read by a daughter grown old enough to appreciate its depth.

Now for every rule I've had to follow
every truth I've had to swallow
there's another silly notion I outgrew
but I always knew that I would love you
before I ever heard your name or saw your face
in all this blue

Between the two, “Girls Like You” and “Always Knew” reveal, as they move toward the completion of this sprawling, pandemic-engendered song cycle, the depth of Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters’s achievement.  

Listen to both HERE.

Sat, 11/20/2021 - 3:42 pm

If a history of Western North Carolina’s Acoustic Syndicate is ever written, there’s no doubt that a central theme will be the group’s uncanny ability to draw together multiple influences into a distinctive genre-crossing musical identity. It’s a part of their legacy as jamgrass trailblazers whose music has simultaneously remained rooted in the unique environment of their home turf and appealed to followers across the country and beyond. Reflecting that innate adventurous spirit, their newest single for Organic Records pays homage to one of the great songs and bands of the modern age with an inspired version of the Velvet Underground’s 1970 classic, “Rock and Roll.”

Performed in the same key as the 1970 first recording, the song kicks off with an acousticized version of the Velvet Underground’s opening riff that serves both as a memory refresher and a notice that the group has put its own stamp on Lou Reed’s legendary paean to the power of not just music in general, but rock and roll in particular, to transform a life. The same musical double vision pervades the entire track, with guitarist Steve McMurry’s echo of a signature bit of Lou Reed’s guitar playing balanced by an acrobatic — and, of course, wholly new — banjo solo from singer Bryon McMurry, and Fitz McMurry’s recap of Mo Tucker’s jittery drumming contrasted to a crescendo of wordless vocals from all three, along with bassist Jay Sanders, that build to a dramatic finish that’s distinct from, yet thoroughly in keeping with the original.

Though he doesn’t take the lead vocal, the song has special meaning to Steve McMurry, who helped bring the idea to the recording studio — special enough that he recalls not only the circumstances, but the exact date when he was introduced to it:

“The first time I ever heard the song ‘Rock and Roll’ by The Velvet Underground was September 10, 1984. I had just graduated from high school, moved to a new town and enrolled in HVACR tech school at Gaston College. It was the first day of class, and I was early; I was listening to 95Q in Charlotte…back when it was still a legit rock’n’roll station. I was sitting in the parking lot of a strange place, in a strange town, preparing to embark on a new path that I had no previous experience with…feeling pretty alone, and fairly nervous.

“At about 8:15, the song started. By the time it got into the first big chorus melody,  I was hooked; I had it turned up about as loud as it would go and I remember totally doing the head bang in my 1977 Toyota Celica GT with the custom supercharged sound system. I didn’t know who the Velvet Underground was at that point, and I actually thought it was something new. I stayed in the car and sat through two more songs before the DJ (and I swear it was Larry Sprinkle) came back on to call out the tunes—‘…and startin’ it all off with a classic from Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground.’  Suffice it to say, my day started off much better than I had anticipated it would. I think I literally pimp-walked into class to begin the first steps of my first career in a very positive and good way.

“I had no history with The V.U. and I kind of forgot about it. A couple of years later, my friend, Mark Elam, turned me on to the band and to Lou Reed. Mark is unquestionably the most credentialed and well-read V.U. aficionado I know, and has taken the big, deep dive into the history and material of the band and Lou, as far as one can probably go without moving to New York City. Thank you, Mark, for your life-long and continuing contribution to my music catalogue!

“To this day, I can’t hear The Velvet Underground’s ‘Rock and Roll’ without having that little butterfly flutter in my stomach and immediately returning to that fall morning in 1984… back to that rare moment of youthful exhilaration, excitement, possibility and hope for the future.”

Listen to Acoustic Syndicate's take on "Rock and Roll" HERE.

Sat, 12/11/2021 - 2:25 pm

With the release of “Perfect Word” and “Only Just To Smile,” Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters conclude a year-long song cycle that is in equal parts ambitious and intimate. Birthed by the C​​OVID-19 pandemic, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea has been revealed over the course of 2021 as a dual-themed series of musical moments and memories that, as the singer/songwriter said at the outset, “represent different sides of the creative process, with The Devil including the more manic, upbeat, outgoing — maybe even grotesque at times — and The Deep Blue Sea being more reclusive, contemplative, understated.”

Keyed to the first of those sides, “Perfect Word” is a graceful yet animated recollection of a final homecoming, set to a sinuous melody that unfolds in one memorable phrase after another over the band’s effortless-sounding mid-tempo groove even as its subject recalls the series’ opener, “New York.” “This is another song that came out of the period where my parents were selling the house I grew up in,” Platt offers. “So it felt fitting to end where we began (‘New York’ being on the same theme). It’s about my childhood and saying goodbye. I’m someone who tends to focus on endings instead of the beginnings they may represent, so this song was and is a helpful reminder to me that ‘love is not a perfect word, it knows no time or place.’”

Its companion, “Only Just To Smile,” sounds a welcome note of reconciliation with the passage of time, offered in a slower, wistful, yet ultimately uplifting setting from a group fully engaged in the moment. Framed in restraint and a steady stream of delicate touches by the Honeycutters — Evan Martin (drums), Rick Cooper (bass), Matt Smith (pedal steel guitar) and Kevin Williams (piano) — and her brother, Andrew, sitting in on electric guitar, Platt delivers what is surely one of the series’ most emblematic lyric passages, as she realizes:

"I cashed in all of my wild days
for swapping stories in our living room
and the things I left behind may call to me sometimes
but if I look back now it's only just to smile
"

“I wanted this song to be last in the line of single releases,” she notes. “Because it’s about being on the other side of change and feeling accepting of it. Sometimes we get blinded to all that we’ve gained when we pine for the past… I fall victim to that frequently. I wanted this song to be recorded live so that we could have everyone in one room together, an experience we’ve really lacked during this process because of the pandemic. It worked out magically.”

Listen to "Perfect Word" and "Only Just To Smile" HERE.

Sat, 01/22/2022 - 5:26 pm

“This album,” says Amanda Anne Platt, “has been a wild ride — both in the global and personal events that took place during its creation and in the creation itself.” Wild ride though it may have been, that album — Amanda Anne Platt and The Honeycutters’ two disc The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, on Organic Records — reveals, in its elegant, heartfelt combination of sweeping concept and intimate execution, an artist at the height of her powers, fronting a band exquisitely attuned to the blend. It's now available for pre-order, add and save ahead of its February 25 release date.

Technically, the album is a compilation of singles mostly released between April and December of 2021 (“Desert Flowers” and “There May Come A Day,” released together in the fall of 2020, served as a prequel) in pairs that reflected the two sides of the titular dualism. As Platt told it early on, “I’ve always liked that saying. For me, the two groupings of songs represent different sides of the creative process, with The Devil including the more manic, upbeat, outgoing — maybe even grotesque at times — and The Deep Blue Sea being more reclusive, contemplative, understated. As an artist I’ve spent a long time judging myself when I’m at either extreme, so it’s nice to have an opportunity to celebrate the balance they provide one another. As a good friend of mine put it, ‘Sometimes you’re drowning in The Deep Blue Sea and you need The Devil to pull you out.’”

Yet even as its original, “deconstructed” release pattern invited close-up contemplation of each track, The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea stands as an organic whole, with each disc devoted to one of those poles, ordered in the same sequence (except those two prequel singles, now serving as postscripts) in which they were released. Across the score of songs, themes emerge — departures and returns; slow-burning realizations and sudden insights; constancy and faithlessness; families beginning and ending; the turning of the seasons and more — and are woven together in a cascade of memorable melodies, elaborated and commented upon by the empathetic musicality of The Honeycutters, who always manage to find just the right timbres and textures to flesh out each of Platt’s songs. From the opening “New York,” with its punchy rhythms and hypnotically alternating chords, through the languid, rounded tones of “Another Winter Gone,” the rolling finger-picked guitar and ghostly organ behind the wistfully meditative “Always Knew” and on to the rocking “Girls Like You,” each song both stands on its own and contributes to the cumulative impact of the full set.

Platt notes that, while the essential concept for The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea was sketched out early on, the nature of the process posed its own challenges, too.  “As we carried on with releasing two tracks from the project each month,” she recalls, “more than once it seemed like a song would take on a new poignancy as life unfolded at the same time. A lot of the time we were scrambling to finish the tracks that were to be released the following month... it added an immediacy that I liked, to some extent, but also might be glad to never do again. Because of the disjointed nature of the recording process I was worried that the songs might not fit together as cohesively as I had planned, but when I finally sat down and listened to the finished product I realized that there were themes running throughout that I hadn't even intended, images that I used repeatedly even though some of these songs were written years apart.”

“I guess it feels a little funny to be releasing a ‘concept album’ in a time when there is so much emphasis on streaming,” she concludes. “Especially one composed of songs that have all been available to stream individually for some time now. But I also grew up in the nineties, and have always been a stickler for the way things fit together, how one song flows into the next on an album. And so I will say that, even if CDs seem to be going the way of the dinosaur, I am extremely satisfied to have something to show for these past two years, a body of work that makes sense to me and gives these songs a home.”
 Pre-order, add or save The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea HERE.

Thu, 02/10/2022 - 3:53 pm

At heart, Jeremy Garrett is a bluegrass fiddler. Even with his explorations of the genre’s edges as a member of The Infamous Stringdusters — not to mention the boundary-breaking, technology-enhanced solo recordings and performances on his first two projects for Organic Records, Circles (2020) and Wanderer’s Compass (2021) — Garrett has always kept his bluegrass tools sharpened and at the ready. Now, his irrepressible creativity and a keen sense of the moment have led him to dig deep into ten years’ worth of his catalog of original songs — and one of the most enviable address books in the business — to produce River Wild, a visit to the musical ground on which his career was born. The album is now available for pre-order, add and save ahead of its March 25 release.

To be sure, this is no ordinary bluegrass album. As the lyric that emerges from the moody, almost ominous opening to the title track (written with bluegrass powerhouse Rick Lang) announces, in the voice of the river, “I got my own mind, I got my own will,” and from that opening number to the virtuosic solo fiddle closer, “Burning The Slash,” Garrett’s powerfully distinctive approach to the genre is on full display. That’s true even when the tune is a pedal-to-the-metal, full-on bluegrass romp like the second track and first single, “What’s That You’re Doin’?” “A fast paced, playful and traditional sounding bluegrass song,” Garrett calls it, “a fun conversation between two lovers heading towards the goal of ‘getting hitched,’ to use an old time term, and asking what it will take to get the job done. This song was co-written with my friend, Benny (Burle) Galloway, and I love how it stays on the ‘1’ chord for the entire verse — for all of those,” he adds with a laugh, “who may be following along with the Nashville numbering system!”

From there, the set winds through sinuous contemporary instrumentals, original bluegrass songs both mainline and edgy, a signature bit of acoustic pop and even an unexpected — and bravura — tip of Garrett’s hat to the Father of Bluegrass himself. Among the highlights, annotated by the artist:

“Potato Farmer”: “It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to write some instrumental music for a project like this, involving guest musicians. There are several instrumental numbers on this record, but I highlighted this track as one to show off the stellar pickers who joined me: Seth Taylor, an incredible guitar player who I think will be a household name in the guitar world soon, along with the rock solid Barry Bales on bass, Alan Bibey on mandolin and the incredible Ryan Cavanaugh on banjo.”

“In the Blink of an Eye”: “I co-wrote this with Jon Weisberger, and it’s one of my favorite songs that I have helped pen. I love how the melody cries out from the very beginning, and the mix that Scott Barnett put on it sonically is transcending. I think it’s one of those special songs that many people can vibe with. The musicians all played incredibly on all of the tracks for this record, but this one is a stand-out to me. Big fiddle jam at the end as well!”

“In a Song”: “This was the result of a first time co-writing attempt with Josh Shilling, who would become a great friend. We have written many songs together now, and this one hits home for me. It tells a story of an old man who leaves his guitar to a young, up and coming musician. He has one request — to be remembered in a song. As a musician, performer, singer and songwriter, who has virtually committed my life to music, to be remembered in a song that lives on after I leave this world would indeed be a special way to be remembered.”

“Kentucky Waltz”: “This song, of course, is a bluegrass classic, by Bill Monroe. I heard my dad sing this from an early age and have always loved it; it’s a fun one to slow way down and play around with, with some fiddle double stops and going large on the vocals. The rest of the songs on the record are original, but I wanted to pick one classic, and this one stood out to me. I hope you enjoy my rendition.”

“I had it in my heart to do a bluegrass record this time around,” he concludes, “and to call upon some friends to help me record it. I picked some of my favorite songs from my original catalog, and also wrote some specifically for this project. I went as bluegrass as I could, while trying to be true to being original. I poured my life’s blood into these songs and the performance of them, and I was so honored to have this lineup of players and singers to make the songs be all they could be — and then some. This one goes out special to all the fans who have been so supportive of my music endeavors through the years!”

With help from that insightfully chosen group of pickers and singers — Seth Taylor (guitar) and two-time IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year Alan Bibey are the constants — that includes banjoists Ryan Cavanaugh (Bill Evans Soulgrass), Gena Britt (Sister Sadie) and Russ Carson (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder), bassists Travis Book (Infamous Stringdusters) and Barry Bales (Alison Krauss & Union Station), dobroist Andy Hall of the Stringdusters, as well as bluegrass legend Lou Reid and Mountain Heart’s masterful Josh Shilling on harmony vocals, Jeremy Garrett has delivered a remarkable musical statement. At once a love letter to bluegrass, and a bold assertion of his continued place in it, River Wild is the album that his fans and colleagues alike have been waiting for.

Pre-order, add or save River Wild HERE.

Thu, 02/24/2022 - 11:56 am

Leave it to ace guitarist Jon Stickley and his eponymous Trio to start the new year with a single, “Take The Air,” that does for a 7/4 time signature what Dave Brubeck’s Paul Desmond-composed “Take Five” did for 5/4 some sixty years ago.  

Where Stickley and his associates — violinist Lyndsay Pruett and drummer Hunter Deacon — typically offer tunes formed around multiple melodies and grooves, achieving their impact through carefully crafted, artfully arranged sections, “Take The Air” is simpler, even more primal in nature. Built around a slinky, unadorned riff that underpins the track from start to finish, the tune insinuates itself comfortably into a listener’s ear before its cunningly off-kilter meter becomes apparent, and the easy breeziness of the opening never lets up. And while Deacon and Pruett have their opportunities to shine—the former in a brief middle section framed by modulations away from and back to the original key — this time, the spotlight shines mostly on Stickley’s supple guitar playing, which grows increasingly decorative, especially in the final minute before “Take The Air” fades away.   

“Over the last couple years,” says the guitarist, “I found a lot of comfort in getting outside and taking walks. This song, ‘Take the Air’ came to me after taking a stroll and thinking about all the picker buddies I was missing. It’s the kind of laid back tune I’d love to sit around on the porch and play with some good friends. I hope it brings everyone a little peace like a good walk can.”

Listen to "Take The Air" HERE.

Sun, 03/27/2022 - 1:40 pm

Jeremy Garrett (a bluegrass fiddler at heart) visits the musical ground on which his career was born with River Wild, his new album out now from Organic Records.

Even with his explorations of the genre’s edges as a member of The Infamous Stringdusters — not to mention the boundary-breaking, technology-enhanced solo recordings and performances on his first two projects for Organic, Circles (2020) and Wanderer’s Compass (2021) — Garrett has always kept his bluegrass tools sharpened and at the ready. Now, his irrepressible creativity and a keen sense of the moment have led him to dig deep into ten years’ worth of his catalog of original songs — and one of the most enviable address books in the business — to create River Wild.

To be sure, this is no ordinary bluegrass album. As the lyric that emerges from the moody, almost ominous opening to the title track (written with bluegrass powerhouse Rick Lang) announces, in the voice of the river, “I got my own mind, I got my own will,” and from that opening number to the virtuosic solo fiddle closer, “Burning The Slash,” Garrett’s powerfully distinctive approach to the genre is on full display. That’s true even when the tune is a pedal-to-the-metal, full-on bluegrass romp like the second track and first single, “What’s That You’re Doin’?” “A fast paced, playful and traditional-sounding bluegrass song,” Garrett calls it, “a fun conversation between two lovers heading towards the goal of ‘getting hitched,’ to use an old time term, and asking what it will take to get the job done. This song was co-written with my friend, Benny (Burle) Galloway, and I love how it stays on the ‘1’ chord for the entire verse — for all of those,” he adds with a laugh, “who may be following along with the Nashville numbering system!”

From there, the set winds through sinuous contemporary instrumentals, original bluegrass songs both mainline and edgy, a signature bit of acoustic pop and even an unexpected — and bravura — tip of Garrett’s hat to the Father of Bluegrass himself. Among the highlights, annotated by the artist:

“Potato Farmer”: “It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to write some instrumental music for a project like this, involving guest musicians. There are several instrumental numbers on this record, but I highlighted this track as one to show off the stellar pickers who joined me: Seth Taylor, an incredible guitar player who I think will be a household name in the guitar world soon, along with the rock solid Barry Bales on bass, Alan Bibey on mandolin and the incredible Ryan Cavanaugh on banjo.”

“In the Blink of an Eye”: “I co-wrote this with Jon Weisberger, and it’s one of my favorite songs that I have helped pen. I love how the melody cries out from the very beginning, and the mix that Scott Barnett put on it sonically is transcending. I think it’s one of those special songs that many people can vibe with. The musicians all played incredibly on all of the tracks for this record, but this one is a stand-out to me. Big fiddle jam at the end as well!”

“In a Song”: “This was the result of a first time co-writing attempt with Josh Shilling, who would become a great friend. We have written many songs together now, and this one hits home for me. It tells a story of an old man who leaves his guitar to a young, up and coming musician. He has one request — to be remembered in a song. As a musician, performer, singer and songwriter, who has virtually committed my life to music, to be remembered in a song that lives on after I leave this world would indeed be a special way to be remembered.”

“Kentucky Waltz”: “This song, of course, is a bluegrass classic, by Bill Monroe. I heard my dad sing this from an early age and have always loved it; it’s a fun one to slow way down and play around with, with some fiddle double stops and going large on the vocals. The rest of the songs on the record are original, but I wanted to pick one classic, and this one stood out to me. I hope you enjoy my rendition.”

“I had it in my heart to do a bluegrass record this time around,” he concludes, “and to call upon some friends to help me record it. I picked some of my favorite songs from my original catalog, and also wrote some specifically for this project. I went as bluegrass as I could, while trying to be true to being original. I poured my life’s blood into these songs and the performance of them, and I was so honored to have this lineup of players and singers to make the songs be all they could be — and then some. This one goes out special to all the fans who have been so supportive of my music endeavors through the years!”

With help from that insightfully chosen group of pickers and singers — Seth Taylor (guitar) and two-time IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year Alan Bibey are the constants — that includes banjoists Ryan Cavanaugh (Bill Evans Soulgrass), Gena Britt (Sister Sadie) and Russ Carson (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder), bassists Travis Book (Infamous Stringdusters) and Barry Bales (Alison Krauss & Union Station), dobroist Andy Hall of the Stringdusters, as well as bluegrass legend Lou Reid and Mountain Heart’s masterful Josh Shilling on harmony vocals, Jeremy Garrett has delivered a remarkable musical statement. At once a love letter to bluegrass, and a bold assertion of his continued place in it, River Wild is the album that his fans and colleagues alike have been waiting for.

Listen to River Wild HERE.

Tue, 05/24/2022 - 10:10 am

For more than a quarter of a century, Acoustic Syndicate has been setting the pace for a style of music that fuses southern roots music, bluegrass, rock and roll and a healthy dose of improvisation in an approach that now permeates the American music scene. Hailed as a progenitor of and inspiration to generations of jam and jamgrass bands, the group has released seven albums and taken its distinctive, North Carolina-bred sound across the country more times than any of its members can recall. Now they embark on a new era of their storied career with their debut full-length studio release for Organic Records, All In Time. The album is now available for pre-order, add and save ahead of its July 15 release.

Comprised of three cousins — Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry on guitar and lead vocals, along with brothers Bryon McMurry (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Fitz McMurry (drums, vocals) — and longtime bassist Jay Sanders, Acoustic Syndicate’s music has grown organically, earning them a loyal following and appearances at memorable events such as Bonnaroo and Farm Aid. Says Paul Kerr of JamBase, “Their modern take on traditional bluegrass and rock values culminates in a glimmering, driving sound rich with acoustic textures and glowing vocals.”  

All In Time expands on a set of successful, previously-released singles that ran the gamut from personal, emotive, self-written songs to a revealingly wide-ranging group of covers (the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” Lou Reed’s “Rock and Roll” and Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”).

Timely themes emerge throughout, describing the ebb and flow of life with messages of recognizing today’s struggles but keeping a hopeful eye on what could be. Bryon’s “Simple Dream” — the third single released from the album — is one of the songs that captures this idea.

“It’s somewhat of a plea for humanity, broken down to be as straightforward of a message as can be: Love. Love is better than hate,” says Bryon. “The music originally was much slower, written for a New Orleans project with tuba and banjo and other horns that is still in its infancy. The message, though, is simple, given the past few years of turmoil in this country and globally. The song is a plea for us to take a look at ourselves and those around us and try to bridge the gaps. I'm sure I’m naive in my thinking,” he concludes, “but it’s worth a try.”

The title track offers some more reflection, and Steve calls it one of the strongest songs to date.

“The words are just my account of needing to catch my breath. I have many character flaws. One of the worst is my perpetual propensity to commit myself to absolutely more than I can do on a daily basis. The job, the band, the farm, and until recently, aging parents… all of it,” says Steve. “Many are the days that I forget to just pause, look around, breathe the air, appreciate my surroundings, have gratitude, recognize the love that I have in my life and try to turn down the volume of living for a moment. ‘All In Time’ is also a reflective appreciation for something my dad, Joe, would say when the times of the world become frightening, chaotic and without direction, like they are now: ‘When things become uncertain like this…when the world seems like it’s out of control and we can’t help but be scared and anxious about the state of things…no matter how bad it gets, unless there is something we can do about it, we just have to have faith, be patient, keep on doing the best that we can…and trust that people will eventually do the right thing in the end.’”

As a whole, Acoustic Syndicate’s All In Time offers a rich musical portrait of long-time masters replanting their indie-roots fusion flag on the rapidly re-emerging musical terrain they helped to establish and influence over 25 years ago.  

"Acoustic Syndicate has been making records since 1996. Speaking only for myself — and I’m sure that the others would agree — I can honestly say that the recording process for All In Time has been the most relaxed, stress free recording experience of my career,” says Steve. “I am grateful to Organic Records for this project, for believing in us and for the positivity and support of all of the Organic folks. Can't wait for the next one."

Pre-order, add or save All In Time HERE.

Mon, 07/18/2022 - 4:38 pm

Acoustic Syndicate — which has for decades been setting the pace for a style of music that fuses southern roots music, bluegrass, rock and roll and a healthy dose of improvisation in an approach that now permeates the American music scene — embarks on a new era of their storied career with their debut full-length studio release for Organic Records, All In Time, out now.

Hailed as a progenitor of and inspiration to generations of jam and jamgrass bands, the group has taken its distinctive, North Carolina-bred sound across the country more times than any of its members can recall. Comprised of three cousins — Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry on guitar and lead vocals, along with brothers Bryon McMurry (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Fitz McMurry (drums, vocals) — and longtime bassist Jay Sanders, Acoustic Syndicate’s music has grown organically, earning them a loyal following and appearances at memorable events such as Bonnaroo and Farm Aid. Says Paul Kerr of JamBase, “Their modern take on traditional bluegrass and rock values culminates in a glimmering, driving sound rich with acoustic textures and glowing vocals.”  

All In Time expands on a set of successful, previously-released singles that ran the gamut from personal, emotive, self-written songs to a revealingly wide-ranging group of covers (the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” Lou Reed’s “Rock and Roll” and Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”).

Timely themes emerge throughout, describing the ebb and flow of life with messages of recognizing today’s struggles but keeping a hopeful eye on what could be. Bryon’s “Simple Dream” — the third single released from the album — is one of the songs that captures this idea.

“It’s somewhat of a plea for humanity, broken down to be as straightforward of a message as can be: Love. Love is better than hate,” says Bryon. “The music originally was much slower, written for a New Orleans project with tuba and banjo and other horns that is still in its infancy. The message, though, is simple, given the past few years of turmoil in this country and globally. The song is a plea for us to take a look at ourselves and those around us and try to bridge the gaps. I'm sure I’m naive in my thinking,” he concludes, “but it’s worth a try.”

The title track offers some more reflection, and Steve calls it one of the strongest songs to date.

“The words are just my account of needing to catch my breath. I have many character flaws. One of the worst is my perpetual propensity to commit myself to absolutely more than I can do on a daily basis. The job, the band, the farm, and until recently, aging parents… all of it,” says Steve. “Many are the days that I forget to just pause, look around, breathe the air, appreciate my surroundings, have gratitude, recognize the love that I have in my life and try to turn down the volume of living for a moment. ‘All In Time’ is also a reflective appreciation for something my dad, Joe, would say when the times of the world become frightening, chaotic and without direction, like they are now: ‘When things become uncertain like this…when the world seems like it’s out of control and we can’t help but be scared and anxious about the state of things…no matter how bad it gets, unless there is something we can do about it, we just have to have faith, be patient, keep on doing the best that we can…and trust that people will eventually do the right thing in the end.’”

As a whole, Acoustic Syndicate’s All In Time offers a rich musical portrait of long-time masters replanting their indie-roots fusion flag on the rapidly re-emerging musical terrain they helped to establish and influence over 25 years ago.  

Listen to All In Time HERE.

Sun, 08/14/2022 - 3:54 pm

Earlier this year, Jeremy Garrett (from the GRAMMY-winning Infamous Stringdusters) returned to the bluegrass roots that first brought him accolades and critical attention when he released his third album for Organic Records, River Wild.

Alongside a successful tour on which Garrett was joined by some of today’s top players, the album’s first single, “What’s That You’re Doin,’” reached No. 1 on Bluegrass Today’s weekly chart and Garrett was featured on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction Sidetracks segment.

Now, Garrett has released a music video for the album’s title track after a premiere by The Bluegrass Situation. Leading off the album, the moody “I Am The River Wild” carries a double meaning, capturing the voice of the river and of Garrett himself.

“This song, co-written by Rick Lang, is a picture of how rivers are born and become mighty. Untamed and free. Wild. Perhaps they can be held back, but not when the storms come raging in,” says Garrett. “It feels like I am describing myself as the river as I sing this song.”

“We made the video for this song in a pristine part of the southern Colorado wilderness, way up in the mountains, where life to rivers begins,” Garrett told The Bluegrass Situation. “The wolf and the moose bring an amazing feeling to the video and the story unfolds nicely in that setting.”

Watch the video for “I Am The River Wild” below and stream Garrett’s album HERE.

Tue, 11/01/2022 - 2:51 pm

Some seven years ago, Ashley Heath gave up her job as a North Carolina barista, leaping into a full-time musician’s career. Now, with the release of her debut EP for Organic Records, she’s taking a big step forward onto a national stage — a step that, as Something To Believe’s six songs show, she’s more than ready to make.

From the first ominous notes of the title and opening track to the last lush chord of the aching closer, “How Long,” Something To Believe offers a clear portrait of a young artist who knows exactly what she’s doing.

For Heath, the road to this moment has been something of a throwback to the days before social media virality — slogging it out through a succession of appearances around her native Western North Carolina that ranged from the “character-building” grind of coffeehouse and bar gigs to higher profile sets at MerleFest and other renowned gatherings in the music-friendly region. Along the way, she’s been named “best Americana artist of the year” by the readers of local alternative weekly Mountain Xpress, and among the best of the year by Americana flagship station WNCW, too.  

Still, Something To Believe is a momentous punctuation point. Entirely self-written, arranged and produced, the project is a bold musical statement that offers a succinct yet compelling portrait, and though it’s an EP, it nevertheless traces an easily discernible musical arc. Opening with the rocking title track, which offers the first glimpse of Heath’s blend of strength and vulnerability — both lyrically and vocally — it turns quickly to the pleading of “I Remember,” with its blend of country and r&b touches, followed by the more restrained fatalism of “The Letter,” with its poignant acknowledgement that:

"You’ve set your mind and I couldn’t change a thing
Even if I wrote it all down in a letter
"

The mood of resignation continues with the still gentler acoustic guitar and country feel of “I’m Used To It,” before the more spirited defiance of “You Think I’m A Fool,” which recaps the moody flavor of the opener, while stretching out to give more room to Heath’s hand-picked accompanists. Closing out the project is a nifty change of pace — a “quiet storm” flavored, vibe-y “How Long,” that flows so smoothly that a listener might not even notice that the lyric is composed entirely of questions:

"What will happen to my dreams…Will they get lost in yours…When I put my time into you, will you walk out the door?"

“I chose these specific songs for my third EP because they were the songs I had written pre-pandemic and had planned on recording in 2019,” says Heath. “I wanted those collections of songs to stay together and the songs written during the pandemic to be a different collection. They were more representative of what I was like as a person and a reflection of what I was going through emotionally during that particular time of my life.”

“I hope that listeners can hear the diversity of genres throughout the songwriting as well as the intimacy and strength of my voice,” Heath continues. “I think the collective message of this album is we must stay strong and continue!”

Listen Something To Believe HERE.

Tue, 03/07/2023 - 9:56 am

Boundary-breaking and genre-defying are handy terms to use in describing musical artists, but while they can lend a certain cachet to a project, music that really eludes easy description is actually pretty rare. Still, if such terms can be applied to any group at all, the Jon Stickley Trio is at the head of the line for such treatment. For while the music made by guitarist Stickley, violinist Lyndsay Pruett and percussionist Hunter Deacon contains innumerable influences that dart in and out of a listener’s ear, its all-instrumental essence is truly unique. And while the Trio’s 2020 debut for Organic Records, Scripting The Flip, was a convincing enough depiction of the group’s distinctive identity to earn rave reviews from jazz and Americana publications alike, their upcoming album, Meantime’s Up, serves up compelling proof that they’ve been digging even deeper.

The album is now available for pre-order, add or save ahead of its April 28 release.

Building on singles the Trio has released over the past two years, Meantime’s Up may best fit under the jazz umbrella, expertly matching inspiration and execution in a series of collective creations knit together with a handful of interludes given over to their individual members. The result is at once engagingly diverse and yet artistically coherent, even as individual entries like “Future Ghost,” “In And About” and “Golden Eagle” — all previously-released singles — exhibit the same traits in miniature, with multiple themes and moods, while others, like the new “Preston’s Tune,” a grassy flatpicking showcase, or Pruett’s “Death By Rainbow,” are deeper explorations of single textures and grooves. Rounded out by the focused interludes — Pruett’s lushly melodic “Consequence of Desire,” Stickley’s moody “Moonbow” and “Morning Candy,” and Deacon’s epic explorations of percussive tonality, “Causeway Pt. 1” and “Causeway Pt. 2” — the 50+ minute project is an expansive offering that brings to mind such archetypal suites as Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition, taking listeners on a lengthy, ever-changing journey to the heart of the Trio’s creativity. And with its devotion to rich tones and its elegant counterpoints, Meantime’s Up is perfectly suited to a full treatment in the exciting new sonic landscape of Dolby Atmos, available on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL.

Allowing listeners to feel as if they're inside the song itself, Dolby Atmos is familiar to many from its “surround sound” application in thousands of movie theaters. It is described by the respected sound technology innovator as “revealing depth, clarity and details like never before….a sound experience you can feel all around you.” Audio produced in Dolby Atmos adapts automatically to your Atmos-compatible device and system to give you an unexpected, all-enveloping sound experience.

“This album was recorded over a 3-year period of time that coincided with the Pandemic, and the birth of my two children,” says Stickley. “When I listen to this record, I can hear the personal changes and creative growth that was happening during this period where babies often replaced the guitar in my arms. When composing the tunes for this album, we consciously leaned toward the beautiful notes. Lyndsay and Hunter get to really stretch out on this record, and they played more incredibly than ever. Per usual, we had fun exploring some new musical territory but at the same time, songs like ‘Preston’s Tune,’ which is dedicated to the late Preston Thompson, revisit our pickin’ roots.
“The title idea is a combo of ‘in the meantime’ and ‘time’s up’,” he adds, “and there’s also a double entendre with ‘meantime’ being over. It’s about moving forward and going from a place of hesitations and procrastination, and just going for it. The album was recorded during the big lull and now it’s time to get back at it with clarity and perspective — out of a place of negativity and frustration, to somewhere more positive.”

Pre-order, add or save Meantime's Up HERE.

Wed, 03/29/2023 - 6:16 am

A family legacy of music can be a precious thing for a musician, and when a duo brings two of them together, the results can be even more special. But when the duo are John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Zoe Weinstein, whose grandfathers were hard-working practitioners of musical styles birthed in two different cultures and originally separated by thousands of miles, the outcome is something else altogether: the unique, artfully crafted yet deeply organic blend found in Zoe & Cloyd’s Songs of Our Grandfathers, their upcoming release for Organic Records. The album is now available for pre-save, add or order ahead of its May 19 release.

The project isn’t the first time the two have touched on their familial musical roots — Natalya’s grandfather, David Weinstein was a Jewish klezmer musician who emigrated from Ukraine to New York by way of Argentina, while John’s, Jim Shumate, was a pioneering North Carolina bluegrass fiddler — but for the first time, Zoe & Cloyd have devoted an entire album to exploring these two musical streams in ways that not only honor the distinctive features of each, but also blend them in exciting and innovative ways. And in a nod to one of the project’s inspirations, four numbers feature Statman, a virtuoso bluegrass (and beyond) mandolin player and accomplished klezmer clarinetist who contributes to both sides of the combination.  

“Songs of Our Grandfathers is inspired by the 1995 album by David Grisman and Andy Statman entitled Songs of Our Fathers, a beautiful project composed of Jewish and klezmer music,” say the husband and wife duo. “We conceived our album in a similar vein, albeit with klezmer and bluegrass, as an homage to our grandfathers and their unique musical stories. Both Jim and David have had a profound influence on our musical development individually and as Zoe & Cloyd.”

“Interestingly,” they note, “bluegrass and klezmer are actually more similar than they may first appear. Both styles of music were born in working class communities, incorporating regional and popular influences of the time. Bluegrass absorbed elements of jazz and blues into its old-time stringband framework, while klezmer music, with its genesis in the Jewish community of Eastern Europe, often included tunes from a wide variety of countries and ethnic groups.”

John Cloyd Miller's grandfather Jim Shumate, left, and Natalya Zoe Weinstein's grandfather David Weinstein, right.

Along with producer Jon Weisberger, Weinstein and Miller opted for a varied approach to the material, exploring multiple ways in which the bluegrass and klezmer strands might be combined within the entire collection’s framework. Some numbers, such as “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart,” on which Weinstein plays the fiddle Jim Shumate used on the original, groundbreaking Flatt & Scruggs recording from 1948, and “Rocky Road Blues,” to which Statman contributes a deliciously Bill Monroe-flavored mandolin part, are mostly straight-up bluegrass, sharpened by outside-the-box touches from banjoist Bennett Sullivan and enlivened by Miller’s powerful vocals. The same is true on the other side of the coin with Weinstein’s featured vocal, “Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn,” and “Misirlou,” both staples of the New York Yiddish music scene in the 1930s and subsequently popularized by artists like the Andrews Sisters (who did the former as “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön,” with English lyrics) and surf guitarist Dick Dale, who turned the latter into a rock’n’roll hit in 1962; here Sullivan trades his banjo for a guitar, while Miller switches to mandolin and bassist Kevin Kehrberg turns in impressive solos.

Still other selections blend bluegrass instrumentation and musical tropes with klezmer melodies and rhythms in surprising and compelling ways. Statman, who began exploring klezmer clarinet playing in the 1970s after winning acclaim as an inventive bluegrass mandolinist, brings the instrument to “Bulgar Sigansky” and “Ich Benk Noch Mein Shtetele,” providing a dazzling contrast to Sullivan’s bluegrass banjo playing — while bringing the same abandon to a mandolin part on a version of Jim Shumate’s original bluegrass tune, “Up and At ‘Em,” that opens with a klezmer style “doina” introduction. On these entries, the entire ensemble bring their deep knowledge of traditional musics and their free-ranging creativity together in ways that elevate both into a stunningly unique musical tapestry.

“Both styles are melting pots,” note the artists, “and it is fitting and natural for us to combine them in our music.” And indeed, by the time the final track,“Misirlou,” fades away, listeners of Songs of Our Grandfathers will have heard a full-bodied new take on American roots music, one that holds fast to the integrity of Zoe & Cloyd’s legacies yet brings them together in unique and compelling ways.  

Pre-save, add or order Songs Of Our Grandfathers HERE.

Fri, 04/28/2023 - 12:59 pm

Boundary-breaking and genre-defying are handy terms to use in describing musical artists, but while they can lend a certain cachet to a project, music that really eludes easy description is actually pretty rare. Still, if such terms can be applied to any group at all, the Jon Stickley Trio is at the head of the line for such treatment. For while the music made by guitarist Stickley, violinist Lyndsay Pruett and percussionist Hunter Deacon contains innumerable influences that dart in and out of a listener’s ear, its all-instrumental essence is truly unique. And while the Trio’s 2020 debut for Organic Records, Scripting The Flip, was a convincing enough depiction of the group’s distinctive identity to earn rave reviews from jazz and Americana publications alike, their new album, Meantime’s Up, serves up compelling proof that they’ve been digging even deeper.

Building on singles the Trio has released over the past two years, Meantime’s Up may best fit under the jazz umbrella, expertly matching inspiration and execution in a series of collective creations knit together with a handful of interludes given over to their individual members. The result is at once engagingly diverse and yet artistically coherent, even as individual entries like “Future Ghost,” “In And About” and “Golden Eagle” — all previously-released singles — exhibit the same traits in miniature, with multiple themes and moods, while others, like the new “Preston’s Tune,” a grassy flatpicking showcase, or Pruett’s “Death By Rainbow,” are deeper explorations of single textures and grooves. Rounded out by the focused interludes — Pruett’s lushly melodic “Consequence of Desire,” Stickley’s moody “Moonbow” and “Morning Candy,” and Deacon’s epic explorations of percussive tonality, “Causeway Pt. 1” and “Causeway Pt. 2” — the 50+ minute project is an expansive offering that brings to mind such archetypal suites as Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition, taking listeners on a lengthy, ever-changing journey to the heart of the Trio’s creativity. And with its devotion to rich tones and its elegant counterpoints, Meantime’s Up is perfectly suited to a full treatment in the exciting new sonic landscape of Dolby Atmos, available on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL.

Allowing listeners to feel as if they're inside the song itself, Dolby Atmos is familiar to many from its “surround sound” application in thousands of movie theaters. It is described by the respected sound technology innovator as “revealing depth, clarity and details like never before….a sound experience you can feel all around you.” Audio produced in Dolby Atmos adapts automatically to your Atmos-compatible device and system to give you an unexpected, all-enveloping sound experience.

“This album was recorded over a 3-year period of time that coincided with the Pandemic, and the birth of my two children,” says Stickley. “When I listen to this record, I can hear the personal changes and creative growth that was happening during this period where babies often replaced the guitar in my arms. When composing the tunes for this album, we consciously leaned toward the beautiful notes. Lyndsay and Hunter get to really stretch out on this record, and they played more incredibly than ever. Per usual, we had fun exploring some new musical territory but at the same time, songs like ‘Preston’s Tune,’ which is dedicated to the late Preston Thompson, revisit our pickin’ roots.
“The title idea is a combo of ‘in the meantime’ and ‘time’s up’,” he adds, “and there’s also a double entendre with ‘meantime’ being over. It’s about moving forward and going from a place of hesitations and procrastination, and just going for it. The album was recorded during the big lull and now it’s time to get back at it with clarity and perspective — out of a place of negativity and frustration, to somewhere more positive.”

Listen to Meantime's Up HERE.

Sat, 05/13/2023 - 9:49 am

Art may not always be a reflection of life, but when it comes to Kevin Daniel’s music, it’s pretty close. Yet while he has a newcomer’s devotion to keeping it raw and real, Daniel brings a veteran’s depth of experience and sensibility to the project, along with the writing and performance chops to create and deliver songs that simultaneously give listeners glimpses into his life and insights into their own — and that’s exactly what he’s done with the only somewhat sardonically titled The Life and Adventures of Kevin Daniel, his debut full-length album for Organic Records out now.

From the bold a capella opening of the first track (and first single), “Happy For A While” through the instrumental coda that finishes out the album’s closer (and lone cover), “Singer and the Song,” The Life and Adventures of Kevin Daniel marks a new stage in the North Carolina native’s artistic growth.  

Now a Nashville resident, Daniel quickly settled into East Nashville’s bustling music scene, upping his co-writing game, performing in rounds and generally situating himself within a busy circle of Americana-leaning writers and players. At the same time, he huddled with co-producer Jon Weisberger to assemble, between them, a list of favorite players to bring into the studio: a pair of in-demand journeymen and occasional Daniel associates in drummer Logan Jayne and guitarist Patrick French; bassist and co-producer Jeremy Darrow (The Steel Wheels); sacred steel sensation DaShawn Hickman and his wife, singer Wendy Hickman; and, among others, a pair of western North Carolina’s best keyboard players and harmony singers in Kevin Williams (Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters)  and Aaron Price. The result? A sound that, even as it maintains continuity with his previous efforts, roots Daniel’s output still more deeply in the country, R&B and even gospel currents within the broad Americana stream.  

The intertwined influences are right on the surface of songs like “Feel Like It Should,” which finds DaShawn Hickman serving up country pedal steel flavors and a sacred steel-inspired solo over a rhythm section that chugs along in a classic 6/8 soul groove, while Daniel unspools a painfully self-aware confession:

When everything’s right I make something go wrong
Admit to myself what I knew all along
A beautiful girl with stars in her eyes
Make someone happy but I ain't that guy
You’ll make someone happy, but I ain’t that guy

In the wry and realistic “Go Out,” on the other hand, the singer layers a lyric with the aroma of East Nashville country — "I don’t wanna come and jam with your band / I only play for keeps / Three chords, the truth, / And a D18 is all I need" — over a simmering bed of old-school, horn and organ-led rhythm and blues, while on “Dragging Me Down,” the 6/8 feel returns to underpin a gripping dialogue between Daniel’s pleading voice and DaShawn Hickman’s, slippery, sympathetic, single-string pedal steel.

Indeed, each song, from the agonized “Whiskey With My Maker,” to the is-he-or-isn’t-he-kidding “Drink With You,” to the horn-heavy road lament, “House Don’t Feel Like Home” encompasses just enough musical ground to give its lyric an extra dimension. And whether an arrangement falls squarely into one groove, recombines elements or just changes things up in surprising ways, The Life and Adventures of Kevin Daniel places each in service of songs whose lyrics manage — through vivid imagery, unsparing self-awareness and sometimes brutal candor — to dig into the details of a life at once spontaneous and career-centered while offering sharp realizations that resonate with anyone open to hearing them.   

“I have a good life and I am grateful for where I am,” says Daniel. “Part of what makes me grateful is the trauma I’ve experienced on the road to where I currently rest. From being the kid of divorced Jews in a small Christian town, to losing parents at an age where I was really just starting to know them as people, to losing the person I thought I’d marry, I’ve learned to try and be here in these moments and look back on the past as a part of who I am. I can’t say I wouldn’t do things differently, but I can say the music I wrote for this album is a collection of experiences from my years as a musician, as an artist, as a lover, as a selfish man, and as a human being seeking and giving forgiveness. I sincerely think this is my best work to date, and I’m incredibly scared and excited for people to hear it.”

Listen to The Life and Adventures of Kevin Daniel HERE.

Sun, 05/21/2023 - 11:18 am

A family legacy of music can be a precious thing for a musician, and when a duo brings two of them together, the results can be even more special. But when the duo are John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Zoe Weinstein, whose grandfathers were hard-working practitioners of musical styles birthed in two different cultures and originally separated by thousands of miles, the outcome is something else altogether: the unique, artfully crafted yet deeply organic blend found in Zoe & Cloyd’s Songs of Our Grandfathers, out now from Organic Records.

The project isn’t the first time the two have touched on their familial musical roots — Natalya’s grandfather, David Weinstein was a Jewish klezmer musician who emigrated from Ukraine to New York by way of Argentina, while John’s, Jim Shumate, was a pioneering North Carolina bluegrass fiddler — but for the first time, Zoe & Cloyd have devoted an entire album to exploring these two musical streams in ways that not only honor the distinctive features of each, but also blend them in exciting and innovative ways. And in a nod to one of the project’s inspirations, four numbers feature Andy Statman, a virtuoso bluegrass (and beyond) mandolin player and accomplished klezmer clarinetist who contributes to both sides of the combination.  

“Songs of Our Grandfathers is inspired by the 1995 album by David Grisman and Andy Statman entitled Songs of Our Fathers, a beautiful project composed of Jewish and klezmer music,” say the husband and wife duo. “We conceived our album in a similar vein, albeit with klezmer and bluegrass, as an homage to our grandfathers and their unique musical stories. Both Jim and David have had a profound influence on our musical development individually and as Zoe & Cloyd.”

“Interestingly,” they note, “bluegrass and klezmer are actually more similar than they may first appear. Both styles of music were born in working class communities, incorporating regional and popular influences of the time. Bluegrass absorbed elements of jazz and blues into its old-time stringband framework, while klezmer music, with its genesis in the Jewish community of Eastern Europe, often included tunes from a wide variety of countries and ethnic groups.”

Along with producer Jon Weisberger, Weinstein and Miller opted for a varied approach to the material, exploring multiple ways in which the bluegrass and klezmer strands might be combined within the entire collection’s framework. Some numbers, such as “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart,” on which Weinstein plays the fiddle Jim Shumate used on the original, groundbreaking Flatt & Scruggs recording from 1948, and “Rocky Road Blues,” to which Statman contributes a deliciously Bill Monroe-flavored mandolin part, are mostly straight-up bluegrass, sharpened by outside-the-box touches from banjoist Bennett Sullivan and enlivened by Miller’s powerful vocals. The same is true on the other side of the coin with Weinstein’s featured vocal, “Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn,” and “Misirlou,” both staples of the New York Yiddish music scene in the 1930s and subsequently popularized by artists like the Andrews Sisters (who did the former as “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön,” with English lyrics) and surf guitarist Dick Dale, who turned the latter into a rock’n’roll hit in 1962; here Sullivan trades his banjo for a guitar, while Miller switches to mandolin and bassist Kevin Kehrberg turns in impressive solos.

Still other selections blend bluegrass instrumentation and musical tropes with klezmer melodies and rhythms in surprising and compelling ways. Statman, who began exploring klezmer clarinet playing in the 1970s after winning acclaim as an inventive bluegrass mandolinist, brings the instrument to “Bulgar Sigansky” and “Ich Benk Noch Mein Shtetele,” providing a dazzling contrast to Sullivan’s bluegrass banjo playing — while bringing the same abandon to a mandolin part on a version of Jim Shumate’s original bluegrass tune, “Up and At ‘Em,” that opens with a klezmer style “doina” introduction. On these entries, the entire ensemble bring their deep knowledge of traditional musics and their free-ranging creativity together in ways that elevate both into a stunningly unique musical tapestry.

“Both styles are melting pots,” note the artists, “and it is fitting and natural for us to combine them in our music.” And indeed, by the time the final track,“Misirlou,” fades away, listeners of Songs of Our Grandfathers will have heard a full-bodied new take on American roots music, one that holds fast to the integrity of Zoe & Cloyd’s legacies yet brings them together in unique and compelling ways.  

Listen to Songs Of Our Grandfathers HERE.